Hide Away
by Cheezbuckets
Summary: In a secluded building, two men grow an army from the DNA of themselves and their enemies. Some of their replicas, though, are discontent with the life they have been forced to live and manage to escape. *ON INDEFINITE HIATUS*
1. If I Keep Running

Welcome to yet another AkuRoku fic by little ol' me. To be honest, I got this idea while watching Advent Children, half-asleep, with my friends. So Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo are to blame for this, okay?

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><p><em>"Run! Keep running!"<em> Unable to stay focused on where he was going, Roxas just listened to the strict voice echoing in his head even as he became utterly lost in the bright, confusing hallways. The voice, though strange an unexplainable, had never steered him wrong before. _"They're coming for you, so you have to go faster!"_

Though he tried, Roxas quickly became hopeless. "I can't!" he shouted to the voice in his head. He had never been to the blindingly bright ground level of the building before and the blank walls and unlabeled doors gave him no hint where to go.

True to the voice's words, though, he soon heard a storm of footsteps in the halls behind him. Terror striking though him, he coaxed more speed from his legs and tried to get even more lost so, hopefully, he wouldn't be caught. _"Just keep running,"_ the voice intructed. _"You've gotten this far already, so just do it!"_

"I can't!" Roxas panted again, chest feeling tight. Though years of training had given him much endurance, the endless, repetative walls were beginning to make him dizzy.

_"You're the one who came up with this plan,"_ the voice snapped._ "Escape!"_

Gasping for air, Roxas pushed his body right to its limits, only to turn a corner and crash right into a solid body. As he fell backwards to the floor, he groaned loudly and struggled to get up only to hear the footsteps catch up to him and two hands grab him roughly. Startled out of his state of shock, he looked up to see it was Aeleus he had ran into and Braig and Dilan who grabbed his arms and harshly yanked him to his feet, all of them guards on the ground level. _"Roxas! Shit..."_ Even though he could hear the anger in the voice, Roxas just went limp and let himself get dragged by the guards back through the strange hallways. A part of him realized that the two guards were talking to each other and him, but he was too distracted trying to catch his breath to pay attention.

Finally, they reached the dark elevator Roxas had gotten out of only minutes before, now carrying him back down to the basement level. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Roxas cringed and felt his heart sink. "Happy to have you back, Roxas," Xemnas greeted emotionlessly, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. "Thank you, Dilan. Braig. You may return to your posts." Roxas was shoved forward to stumble and fall in front of Xemnas, hearing the elevator close behind him. Xemnas' firm, unrelenting hand gripped his arm, pulling him up again. "Such a hopeless boy," Xemnas murmured, making Roxas wince as he tightened his grip and dragged him through the dark stone halls. "You know there's no way out until we let you."

Even though he knew it was probably a bad idea, Roxas looked up to glare at the silver-haired man. "Axel got out," he said quietly. Having spent so much time together, he and the red-head had been really close. Close enough that Roxas wasn't surprised when, one day, Axel was no longer there. Confused and upset, but not surprised. Word quickly spread that he had escaped, despite attempts to silence the rumours.

Not reacting visually, Xemnas was silent for a minute. "You also know that you are far too valuable for us to risk losing." Roxas was slightly relieved that Xemnas ignored what he said. At the same time, not knowing where he was being taken scared him a bit. Finally, they stopped for a second in front of the door to Vexen's lab for a second before opening it. Though the scientist was at least less severe with him than the others, just spending time with the man who had created him and his friends creeped Roxas out a little.

When they stepped into the dimly lit room, Vexen ignored them for a minute, staring intently at something under a microscope, before turning his chair to face them. He glanced at Roxas for just a second before looking at Xemnas, expression almost one of boredom. "Can I help you, Superior?"

"Yes you can. I'm afraid this boy has tried to escape yet again." Vexen nodded as if he was expecting the news. "I think it's time we proceed with our next experiment."

"Of course, Superior." At the word "experiment," a spark of excitement immediately touched the blond man's cold eyes and he stood from his chair. Nodding silently, Xemnas let go of Roxas and left, closing the door loudly behind him. Scowling after him, Roxas rubbed the sore spot on his arm where he was sure he'd get bruises. With a sigh, Vexen adjusted his white lab coat and approached the teen. "Well, shall we get started?" Having no idea what "experiment" was about to be preformed on him, Roxas looked at the floor and silently shrugged. Putting a hand lightly on Roxas' shoulder, Vexen lead him to the back of his lab, lit mostly by the microscope light and a couple computer screens. "Don't worry," the scientist assured in a nearly emotionless tone. "This is just something Xemnas and Sephiroth have been curious about for a while. I suppose Xemnas has finally decided now is the time to try. It shouldn't hurt you, but I can't be sure since I've never tried it before."

Nodding silenting, knowing he had no choice anyway, Roxas sat down on the medical examining table to wait for whatever was about to happen. Finally turning on a light, Vexen looked at him with something close to worry. "The initial replicating process was more or less easy. Or at least collecting DNA for it was. Replicating a replica is potentially problematic. We already know that we can't properly extract replica DNA through normal means, so we have to try something more drastic." Roxas could only blink in surprise as he watched Vexen turn to prepare some kind of machine. _They're going to replicate me? But why?_ He decided it was probably best not to ask, though, when Vexen approached him. "Just sit still. If things start to go wrong, I'll stop the experiment immediately. Even Xemnas and Sephiroth know better than to risk your life."

Heart suddenly pounding, Roxas could only nod as Vexen put a metal cuff attatched by tubes and wires to the machine around his wrist. The weight of it forced Roxas to rest his hand by his side even though he wanted to inspect it, so he settled for glaring at it suspiciously. Vexen silently turned back to the machine and, without warning, turned it on. Immediately, Roxas flinched as something that didn't seem to have physical form seemed to push itself into his wrist and up his arm. He had to clench his jaw to keep himself from yelling out in pain as it continued making its way through his body, seeming to search for something. Hunched over from the pain, he squeezed his eyes shut and found himself whimpering slightly as his whole body became full of immaterial threads, pushing relentlessly through him. Finally, just as he thought he was about to scream, the machine turned itself off and the threads left through the cuff on his wrist. Roxas let out a relieved gasp and angrily grabbed at the cuff, yanking it off.

"I guess it did hurt," Vexen commented to himself, face still void of emotion. "At least we've suceeded. I'm skeptical the replicating process will work with replica DNA, but I have no choice but to try."

Roxas just glared frustratedly at the back of the older blond's head. Part of him wanted to just jump up and try to run again, knowing Vexen wouldn't do anything to stop him, but the certianty that one of the basement guards would be nearby deterred him. He'd gotten past them before with luck and planning, but the former wasn't good enough to make up for lack of the latter.

Vexen finally turned slightly to look at him, icy green eyes still slightly excited even though the rest of his face wasn't. "You may leave. I'm sure someone is waiting outside to make sure you don't try to escape again." A degree of annoyance touched his voice at that, but Roxas couldn't be sure why.

Not bothering to say anything to the scientist, Roxas got off the table and left the room. True to Vexen's assumption, Lexaeus, a basement guard and the replica of Aeleus, was standing silently in the middle of the hallway, effectively blocking the only route from Vexen's lab to the elevator, leaving the replicas' rooms the only place for Roxas to go. Ignoring the large man's silent stare, Roxas turned towards the rooms he shared with a couple of the other replicas. The disobedient ones. Inside, not in the least to his surprise, the others were still there.

Xion, sitting cross-legged on her bed, smiled sadly at him. "You're back. What happened?"

Glowering, Replica Riku took a step towards him. "You tried to escape again," he accused, eyes burning from behind his silver bangs.

Though Roxas was a little annoyed by the silverette's perpetual anger towards everyone, he nodded. "I got to the ground floor this time, but ended up completely lost. It's like a maze up there," he explained, hoping the news of getting further than usual would placate the other boy. After all, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Replica Riku. He had been the first replica created by Vexen's science. A test. Sephiroth and Xemnas had just wanted to know if it would work, so, in the heat of yet another battle, they took a sample of the original Riku's DNA. They didn't think they'd ever actually need a replica of Riku, just a guinea pig, so, as soon as the replica was created, they simply named him after his original being and all but tossed him away. Replica Riku hated them for that and expressed that frustration at never needing to exist towards everyone.

Nodding at his words, Replica Riku looked at the floor. "Maybe you would've gotten out if you weren't so worried about getting caught," he mused, suddenly quiet.

Surprised by his words, Roxas had to take a minute to try to figure out what the boy said. "I don't... What do you mean?"

Expression suddenly set and determined, Replica Riku looked back up to meet Roxas' eyes. "You were panicking. You couldn't think straight. You had to keep running or else you'd get caught. You just didn't have the time to find the way out."

_"He's right, you know,"_ the voice suddenly added, spreading through all of them. _"Your plans were great, Roxas. The only flaw was that they knew you were trying and so you had to keep running no matter what."_

Nodding at the voice, Xion stood up and approached the boys. "What are you trying to say?" she asked softly.

"I can summon the darkness to protect us!" Replica Riku blurted. "Take me with you and I can make sure no one can see us. We could escape without anyone even noticing!"

_"Again, he's right. As long as no one knows you are trying to escape, you don't have to worry. Once they do find out you're gone, there are...certain things I can do to keep them off of your path."_

Slowly, Roxas lightly gripped Xion's hand and looked squarely at her. "You want to get out of here?" Smiling brightly, Xion just nodded. Looking at Replica Riku produced a sombre nod as well. "Okay. We'll go."

"Where, though?" Xion asked, eyes drifting around as if searching for the source of the voice.

There was a breif silence. _"Destiny Islands. You'll find help there."_

Roxas hesitated and felt a lump build up in his throat. "Axel?" he croaked past the lump.

The voice let out a strangely cold laugh. _"That's right. You've very smart, Roxas. That's why you three are going to get out. Yes, you'll meet Axel again in Destiny Islands. That's where he went after he escaped. I will give you instructions how to get there once you get out."_

"When should we go?" Replica Riku asked quietly.

_"Now,"_ the voice responded without hesitation. _"They won't be expecting another escape attempt so soon, and, combined with hiding in darkness, that will keep them from figuring out that you are escaping."_

After only a breif second, Roxas and Xion stepped closer to Replica Riku so they wouldn't get lost in the darkness. "Keep a hold of me so I can guide you better," the silverette growled, grinning in a strange delight. "I'll show them how useless I am."

_"Since they'll be able to hear you if you speak outloud, with or without the darkness, I'll tell you something only I know,"_ the voice said, sounding proud. _"All replicas can speak to each other using their minds."_

After a second in which the three replicas looked at each other, Roxas and Replica Riku jumped at the same time as they felt something, similar to the voice, brush against their minds. _"Is... Is it true?"_ Xion asked tentatively.

_"Xion?"_ Roxas gasped into the strange contact between the three.

_"It looks like he's told us the truth again,"_ Replica Riku muttered, sounding grudgingly impressed.

_"Good job, Xion,"_ the voice congratulated. _"I was sure you'd be the one to open the connection. Now you three can communicate like that whenever you want. Once you find Axel, you'll have to open the connection with him as well. Now go!"_

Determinedly nodding, Replica Riku lifted his arms at his sides, and Xion and Roxas quickly grabbed his sleeves as they saw shadows in the corners of the room swell then leap out and hide everything from their sight.

_"I've filled the whole building with darkness,"_ Replica Riku quickly explained. _"That should confuse them enough that they won't try to check on us until much later."_ He then quickly opened the door Roxas couldn't see and started to run, all but dragging the other two replicas. Roxas immediately started relaying silent instructions instructions on how to avoid the various traps that had been set up in the basement to pervent escape. It had taken many escape attempts for Roxas to discover all of them and earlier had been the first time he had managed to avoid them all and actually reach the elevator. When Replica Riku annouced that they had reached the elevator and he heard the doors sweep open, a degree of relief filled Roxas. As the door opened on the ground floor, though, worry again nagged him. However, his fears came to nothing as Replica Riku easily continued avoiding everyone, despite being able to hear confused voices somewhere nearby on several occasions, and navigating the formerly bright halls, and, when he heard the front door burst open and he took his first breath of fresh, open air, the darkness falling away into sunlight, Roxas let go of Replica Riku's arm and started to run, furiously pumping his arms to coax out every scrap of speed he had. Right behind him, he could hear the other replicas running just as fast.

_"Keep running straight until you reach a road,"_ the voice suddenly instructed. _"Once you've found it, follow the road to a little town where you will be able to find a ferry that will carry you to the islands for free. You will have to then find a bar called Seventh Heaven which is run by a woman named Tifa. Ask her, and she'll be able to help you get to Axel. That's going to be the easiest way for you to find him."_

_"Thank you."_ Xion replied.

After the voice's contact faded, the three were silent for a long while, focusing entirely on putting one foot in front of the other as fast as possible. Then a strange feeling hit Roxas. _"Guys,"_ he murmured as the enormity filled him, _"we're free."_ A sudden knot tied in his stomach as another feeling followed. _We're coming, Axel. Wait for us. Wait for me._

-o-

With a note of annoyance, Vexen leaned back in his chair and wondered why everyone had decided to meet and talk in his lab. _I can't get any work done with everyone crowding me. Idiots._

"We can go after the kids," Xigbar insisted, nodding to Lexaeus and Xaldin with a grin.

Xemnas shook his head once. "No. We need you three here."

Vexen kept himself from rolling his eyes. _Don't act so calm. We all know how worried you are that you'll lose your advantage._ Deciding to try to ignore them all, he turned his chair back around to his desk. _This is just what you get for underestimating my replicas._ Not facing the others, he indulged in a delighted grin.

"What do you think, Vexen?" Sephiroth asked suddenly. "You created them, after all."

Supressing an annoyed sigh, Vexen turned back around. "We have no way of tracking them," he explained as if the others didn't know. "You'll just have to get someone to track them down. You never found Axel, need I remind you."

The two silver-haired men nodded slowly, "Then my replicas," Sephiroth decided. "If anyone can find our wayward sheep, they can."


	2. Held Close

Sorry this story in particular is taking so long for me to update. I actually considered deleting it for a time, just because I had no inspiration for it, but managed to push past that. So here we go!

Also, I have done some minor revisions to the first chapter due to typos and general less-than-desirable wording in parts. Nothing major, though.

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><p>It hurt Roxas' eyes to look out at the sea, brightly reflecting the sun, but he didn't want to look away. He had seen oceans before, of course, in pictures and such, but actually seeing the flashing blue ripples lapping playfully up against the side of the side of the boat in waves was a completely different experience. It was magical. Xion, leaning up against the railings beside him, laughed airily. "Can you believe this?" she asked excitedly, eyes bright and cheeks flushed in excitement. "I've seen pictures, but I never thought it would be this amazing in real life!"<p>

"They never showed me pictures for comparison, but I guess it's nicer than I thought it would be." Seeming to be caught up in thoughts of his own, Replica Riku sat on Roxas' other side, facing away from the view with is arms crossed. Roxas tried not to frown at the silverette's apparent foul mood, trying to be sympathetic to the mixed feeling he had to be having.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" Startled, Roxas and Xion turned around to see a slender brunette girl smiling gently at them. "This is your first time going to Destiny Islands?" she asked.

Somewhat nervously, Roxas nodded. "Yeah. We're going to try to find an old friend there. It's been a while since he left us, so I guess maybe he won't be able to recognize us,"-a thought that terrified Roxas-"but I know I'll recognize him." _If I knew him at all when he left, he won't have changed that much. Xion, Replica Riku and I are still growing, though, and a year's a long time... I hope we haven't changed that much._

The girl smiled slightly wider and lightly rested her hands across the skirt of her pink dress. "I'm sure he'll be able to recognize you. It sounds like you were good friends," she insisted. "My name is Aerith, by the way."

"I'm Xion."

"Roxas."

Aerith looked at Replica Riku to introduce himself, but the boy silently looked at his lap. The three replicas had decided it would be best not to use his name until they found Axel. The word "replica" was risky to use and the name "Riku" might lead to awkwardness if anyone knew the original Riku.

When Replica Riku didn't say anything, Aerith looked back at Roxas and Xion with a small, slightly confused smile. "It's so strange; you three look so much like some of my friends."

Surprised, the replicas looked at each other. _"You don't think..."_ Roxas let the thought trail off.

_"Possibly,"_ Xion replied softly.

_"Either way, we should wait until we see Axel before we tell anyone anything,"_ Replica Riku pointed out.

At their silence, Aerith's smile shrunk slightly in confusion. "If you need any help finding your friend, I'd be glad to help."

"Actually," Roxas blurted, "we've been told there's a woman who can help us find him. She owns a bar called 'Seventh Heaven.' Do you know where that is?"

"Seventh Heaven? Do you mean you need to see Tifa?" Happy to hear Aerith knew her, Roxas nodded. "She's a good friend of mine. I can take you to her when we land in a minute or two."

Leaving Xion to thank he woman, Roxas turned back around to face the slowly approaching island and closed his eyes. The breeze was cool on his face. The sun was warm on his hair. The idle, friendly chatter from around him filled his ears. It was all so strange, but he never wanted it to end.

A couple minutes later, it did with a slight jolt as the ferry came to a stop. Xion immediately grabbed his hand, and he opened his eyes. "Let's go!" she exclaimed, tugging at Replica Riku's hand as well.

Letting the girl keep a hold of his hand, Roxas quickly followed Aerith as she lead them off of the ferry and through the streets. To Roxas, it felt like an eternity of passing colourful shops, Aerith returning friendly greetings, and continuing to take just one more step. Every step made his heart beat faster and his thoughts more frantic. Suddenly, he realized just how nervous he was. _What if Axel doesn't recognize us? What if something bad happened to him? What if he won't help us? What if he got new friend? What if he doesn't like us anymore? What if..._

His unpleasant train of thought trailed off suddenly when Aerith turned towards a building under a sign reading "Seventh Heaven." Roxas flinched slightly as Xion suddenly squeezed his hand a little more than was comfortable, and he realized how nervous she was as well. Though there was a "closed" sign on the door, Aerith pushed it open and gestured for them to go in. Suddenly nervous and shy, Xion hesitated, so Roxas went in first, keeping a comfortingly tight grip on her hand. It was a little dark inside except for behind the bar table, but he could tell it was clean and neat. Behind the bar, a woman with black hair was cleaning dishes as they came in. "Hello, Aerith," she greeted, looking up from a glass. "Who are they?"

Xion flinched suddenly and tightened her grip on Roxas' hand to a painful degree again. _"It's her,"_ she hissed to him. _"I'm her replica!"_

Startled, Roxas quickly glanced back and forth between them and couldn't help but notice how similar they were, with the exception of their age and eye colour.

Not noticing the silent exchange, Aerith urged the three teens forward. "Hello, Tifa. I met them on the ferry from the mainland. They said they were looking for a friend of theirs and were told you could help them."

Wiping off her hands and lightly tossing the cloth onto the counter, Tifa approached them with a smile. "I'll help if I can. Who is your friend?"

Noticing after a moment that neither Xion nor Replica Riku would say anything, Roxas took half a step forward. "Our friend's name is Axel. Do you know anything about him?"

Looking surprised, Aerith and Tifa shared a look. "You're friends of Axel's?" Tifa asked. "I..." She cut off and shook her head. "Yes, I know him. Unless he had something else to do, he should be upstairs." She pointed at an open door leading to some stairs near her. "He'll be in a room right at the top of the stairs."

Nodding their thanks, the replicas went around the bar and through the door. As soon as they did, the two women started whispering to each other. _"You think they know?"_ Replica Riku asked.

_"They must,"_ Xion replied, sounding like she was still in a slight state of shock.

Roxas was too nervous to respond. Letting go of Xion's hand, he tightly gripped the railing as he climbed, feeling like he was going in slow motion. Doubts again began nagging at him, and he was sure he would have stopped if it wasn't for Replica Riku silently urging him and Xion. Finally, they reached the top of the stairs, and Roxas stared silently at the slightly open door he was confronted with. Behind the door, he could hear a few voices chattering and laughing and felt himself freeze. Seeming to notice Roxas' inability to move, Replica Riku stepped past him and firmly knocked on the door. The chatter immediately slowed, and, after a second, the door opened further to reveal a figure that was somehow still as familiar as it ever was.

"Riku? Wha-" The redhead cut off suddenly as his eyes travelled past Replica Riku, eyes going wide. "Roxas? Xion?"

Roxas immediately felt all of the rigidity leave his limbs as their eyes locked, and he all but fell over. "Axel," he gasped hoarsely.

"Roxas!" The next second, Axel rushed forward and nearly crushed the blond against his chest. Unable to restrain himself, Roxas threw his arms around the larger man, and, trembling, the two collapsed to their knees. Not caring who was watching, Roxas buried his face into Axel's chest and desperately clutched his T-shirt, crying softly. He felt Axel more gently pull Xion down into the hug and the girl snuggled in beside him.

"The voice," Axel whispered, face pressed against Roxas' shoulder, "he told me to go ahead and escape and that he would tell you how to find me when you escaped... For almost a year, I thought he'd lied to me but was too scared to go back." He held the teens slightly tighter. "I missed you so much."

"I'm so happy we found you!" Although she sounded on the verge of tears, Xion drew back and stood back up.

Feeling Axel lift his head, Roxas only held him tighter, not wanting to let him escape. "I can't even begin to say how happy it makes me to see you two again." The man turned his head to look over his shoulder. "And you, too, Replica Riku."

Overwhelmed by the memories of emotions flooding him, it was all Roxas could do to hold tightly to Axel's shirt as the redhead stood again. He hadn't even thought about how much he missed his friend in months. He had spent so much time feeling torn over Axel leaving so suddenly that, once he had been able to move on, he had refused to let himself think about it. _But now he's here with me again. God, I'm so mad he left me. I don't want to lose him again. Why didn't he tell me when he left?_ Axel silently rested both arms around Roxas again, making Roxas finally pull his head away from the redhead's chest to look around. Xion and Tifa were talking to each other, looking slightly awkward but excited at the same time. The others, Aerith, Replica Riku, a strange blond woman, and a red-haired man who strangely reminded Roxas of Axel, awkwardly looked at each other.

"Cloud and Riku," the blond woman said suddenly, raising an eyebrow. "We have to tell them ASAP." She pronounced it as a word rather than as the individual letters. "This kind of blows the roof off of things."

Aerith nodded. "You're right. But we can wait until they come back tomorrow. Think if you hadn't seen your friends in a year. I'm sure Axel, Roxas, Xion, and Replica Riku have a lot to catch up on."

The blond sighed in a mildly annoyed fashion and crossed her eyes. "Ugh. Fine. But I'm going home in that case. All this sweet reunion stuff is going to make me sick." Without another word, she went back downstairs, closing the front door loudly.

Axel sighed and squeezed Roxas lightly. "Ignore her," he grumbled. "But Aerith is right, I guess. I'm sure Reno won't mind if you all stay at his place as well for now." He glanced over his shoulder to the other redhead who shrugged and grinned.

"Actually," Xion murmured, "would it be okay if I stayed with Tifa? There's...a lot I want to ask her." Tifa nodded slightly to show it was okay with her.

Axel nodded as well. "Of course. I know how it feels." He looked down at Roxas, smiling softly. "You ready to go?"

Not sure if he could trust his voice, Roxas smiled as much as he could and nodded, unwillingly letting go of Axel's shirt to take a step away.

The other redhead, Reno, stepped towards the stairs, hands in his pockets. "Well, I guess we'll have to talk when everyone gets back, yo. See ya later!" He took one hand out of his pocket long enough to wave at Tifa and Aerith.

Putting an arm around Roxas' shoulder, Axel nodded to Replica Riku and followed Reno out of the bar. Back outside, Roxas found he still couldn't pay attention to his surrounding, and everything passed in a blur until they reached Reno's house. Inside, Axel silently lead the other replicas upstairs into a small, improvised-looking bedroom while Reno said something about leaving them alone and distracted himself with something else.

Arm still around Roxas, Axel sat down on the bed, Replica Riku following suit.

"I'm sure we don't have to tell you about how life continued as usual after you left," the silverette murmured, "so how about you tell us what's going on here?"

Looking at his lap, Axel nodded. "The voice was what kept urging me to go. Like I said, it told me it would help you escape after me, so that's the only reason I left. After that, it told me how to get to Destiny Islands and Tifa's bar. There, I met Reno and the same thing happened that you saw with Xion and Tifa. I explained everything I knew to him and everyone else, minus the voice, and, since they already know about the existence of replicas, they believed me. they explained to me about Sephiroth and Xemnas' plans and how they are trying to stop them. I immediately decided to help them, and, since then, have been doing just that, helping them avoid getting tracked here by Xemnas and Sephiroth, and waiting for you to find me."

Replica Riku slowly nodded. "What are Xemnas and Sephiroth's plans?"

Shaking his head, Axel let go of Roxas to lightly rest his hand on Replica Riku's shoulder. "Later. I know how much you especially must want to escape, but a lot has happened today, and you two should rest. We'll tell you everything tomorrow." Smiling, Axel stood and turned to look at them. "You can sleep in my room, for now at least. Someone will have to sleep on the floor, but that shouldn't be too uncomfortable."

Standing as well, Roxas took a deep breath to try to find his voice. "I'll sleep on the floor. I don't mind," he said, surprising himself by sounding stronger than he felt.

Silently, Axel nodded, got some spare blankets and a pillow from a chest of drawers in the corner of the room, and helped him set up a makeshift bed on the floor. "Good night," he finally said, gently closing the door as he left.

Roxas knew he wouldn't sleep, curling up comfortably on the floor, but he didn't know what else he could do with himself. So much had happened in one day. _Failing escape, having my DNA taken, successfully escaping, running until I thought I'd collapse, making it to Destiny Islands, finding Axel after so long, and discovering I can fight my makers... Shouldn't I be tired?_ After a few minutes of struggling, and failing, to fall asleep, he frustratedly sat up, and reached out with his mind to try to talk to Replica Riku, only to find the boy already fast asleep on Axel's small bed. To avoid disrupting him, Roxas carefully drew back. Not sure what else to do with himself, he wriggled free of his blankets and quietly left the room. Part of him needing to find Axel again, he followed the two, nearly identical voices downstairs to what appeared to be a living room where he hid in the doorway to listen to the two redheads.

"Living with a bunch of teenagers?" Reno was laughing. "I never knew my DNA coded for 'creeper,' yo."

Rolling his eyes, Axel reached out to give his original a shove. "Hey, technically, Replica Riku's older than me, and Xion and Roxas are only younger by a few months."

Not seeming to care, Reno flopped over onto his side and continued laughing. "Well, _technically_, you're my age, the Replica is Riku's age, and Roxas and Xion were manipulated into being teenagers as well. That makes you older than them and so a creeper, yo."

"It's a good thing I love you or else I'd kill you for that," Axel scoffed teasingly.

Still trying to hide, Roxas unconsciously flinched at that. Almost immediately, two sets of eyes, one blue and the other emerald, found him. "Hey, look who's eavesdropping, yo," Reno teased, grinning. "You really are a troublemaker. I love it."

Axel chuckled and smacked him again. "Leave him alone. What is it, Rox?"

Trying to look nonchalant, Roxas shrugged, not stepping into the room. "I couldn't sleep. I guess I'm just not that tired."

"That's understandable. You've had an exciting day." Smiling, Axel gestured for him to come over.

Silently, Roxas smiled awkwardly and walked over to sit next to Axel on the couch, careful to make sure Axel was between him and Reno, not quite sure what to think of the other redhead yet. The conversation immediately died of at his arrival, so Roxas awkwardly stared at his lap. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Axel gave Reno a nudge and twitched his head towards the door.

Laughing, Reno sat back up. "Yeah, yeah." Axel glared and hit him again. "Oops. I mean-" Reno coughed dramatically. "I have something else to do," he said stiffly and monotonously, grinning. "I'll leave you two alone. Have. Fun." Still grinning in amusement, Reno waved and walked out of the door, closing it loudly and obviously.

Axel immediately sighed and pressed his palm to his forehead. "You can ignore him, too," he grumbled.

Roxas couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Actually, he kind of reminds me of you." He frowned slightly. "Or at least how you used to be. I'm scared that you've changed."

"I have," Axel replied softly. "You have, too. A year is a long time. We've both learned things the other won't know."

"You're right. We've been apart for a long time. Things have changed between us." After a brief hesitation, Roxas remembered something with a jolt and immediately reached out to Xion. _"Xion! We forgot! You need to make the connection or whatever with Axel!"_

Xion took a second to respond. _"Don't scare me like that!"_ she scolded, but Roxas felt her quickly connect all of the replicas together, somehow not disturbing Replica Riku. Seeming distracted, Xion immediately ended the contact.

Looking up at the startled-looking man, Roxas touched Axel's hand. _"Axel?"_

Axel blinked in surprise. _"Roxas? What is this?"_

"It's something the voice told us about," Roxas explained out loud. "All replicas can talk like that once the connection's been made. Xion's apparently the one who can make the connections."

Axel was silent for a minute, nodding slowly in understanding. "Just because we've changed," he murmured, picking the last topic back up, "doesn't mean any of this has changed." Startling Roxas, he grabbed the blond and pulled him into his lap, pressing their foreheads together and closing his eyes. Immediately, Roxas felt Axel lightly push images and memories against him. He decided not to be surprised that words weren't the only things replicas could share with their minds. Since the memories were from Axel's point of view, they were strange, but Roxas recognized them all as moments they'd spent alone together. Somewhat timidly, Roxas eventually offered his own memories to the man he loved. _"See?"_ Axel finally whispered silently. _"Just because we've been apart doesn't mean our relationship has changed."_

_"It didn't change because we were apart."_ Roxas felt his chest suddenly go tight and gripped Axel's shirt again, turning so he was straddling the larger man's lap. Though it hurt slightly to remember, he brought up the night before Axel left and slowly pushed it into the redhead's mind. They had been talking late at night. It was pitch black so they could hardly see each other even though Axel had come into Roxas' bed, and Xion and Replica Riku had been asleep. Roxas couldn't quite remember what they had been talking about at first, but remembered everything perfectly after Axel had touched his hand.

_"What would you do if you do if you got away from this place?" Axel asked, voice soft and looking at a wall distantly._

_Roxas had been surprised by that question. "I-I don't know..." He hadn't thought of escape as a possibility before._

_"I'd go somewhere warm. Somewhere I could always see the sun unlike this hell-hole. Would you like that?"_

_"Only as long as I'm with you." Chest tight with emotion, Roxas wriggled closer to his friend._

_"That'd make it damn near perfect." Axel's hand suddenly lifted from his and touched his cheek, meeting his eyes. "I wonder when we'll get to spend time like this again," he mused softly._

_Heart pounding, Roxas had simply shrugged. "Probably not for a while. Privacy isn't very big here to begin with and I heard Xemnas talking about changes to our daily schedules."_

_"Isn't that a bitch?" With a sigh, Axel slowly leaned in until Roxas could feel his warmth. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "Can I...?"_

_Head beginning to spin, Roxas lifted his face slightly to fully meet the forest pools in front of his eyes. "I-it's okay."_

_His hand sliding to lightly hold the back of Roxas' neck, Axel slowly leaned in further, pressing their lips softly together so Roxas could feel his heart leaping into his throat. It had lasted only a second, though. "I'm sorry," Axel had repeated, drawing away and going back to his own bed. "I love you."_

Roxas quickly cut off the memory before Axel could see how long Roxas had stayed up that night, blushing and smiling and hugging his pillow tightly. Skipping to the next morning, he showed only brief flashes of his frantic, fruitless searches before cutting off the contact and pulling his forehead away. "You left me," he grumbled. "After that, you left me without a word. Our relationship could have changed for the better, but you left me."

Flinching slightly at the hurt in Roxas' voice, Axel opened his eyes and slid his arms around Roxas' waist. "I know, but... That doesn't change my feelings for you."

Suddenly overcome by anger, Roxas grabbed the collar of Axel's shirt and yanked him forward into a rough, sloppy kiss. Acting on pure frustration and hurt, he moved his hands to tightly grip the hair at the base of Axel's neck. In contrast, Axel stayed completely calm, lightly rubbing his hands up Roxas' back over his shirt and easily coaxing Roxas' tongue to meet his. Unable to stop a soft moan and the tearing up of his eyes, Roxas pressed further into the man's lap and did what he could to deepen the kiss.

As he felt Axel's hands go down his back again, though, he realized what he was doing with a jolt and quickly pulled back. To try to keep himself from crying again, he looked down into his lap. "I'm sorry," he whispered, wriggling back to get to his feet. Though it hurt, he made himself head back to the door but paused for a second. _"My feelings haven't changed either. But you left me."_ Completely silent, he went back upstairs to Axel's room where he again huddled into the nest of blankets on the floor. He didn't want to be alone when Axel was so close, but the last thing he wanted was to fall desperately in love again only to be left behind, alone and confused, again. He'd simply have to wean himself off of Axel if he wanted to avoid the inevitable hurt that came with that love.


End file.
